Opinion Housing - The Boston Globe

The zoning reforms demanded by the law impose what Campbell called “reasonable levels of multifamily housing development” near transit stations in the communities that benefit from MBTA service, including commuter rail service.

Editorials

Campbell puts towns on notice: MBTA housing law isn’t optional

Truculent municipalities told they can’t opt out of rule requiring them to allow multifamily development around transit. 10:06 a.m.

A view of housing on Harvard Street in Brookline.

Letters

Brookline is a key battleground in state’s new housing law

"The MBTA Communities law’s anti-urban guidelines threaten our beloved local businesses and existing moderately priced housing," writes one Brookline resident. Another writes, "Brookline clearly needs more development that would enable even middle-class residents, such as our own kids, to find affordable alternatives in town." 2:30 a.m.

An exterior of a parking garage at 160 Pleasant St. in Malden Center. A 2019 report released by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council found that many parking spaces required in new apartment buildings go unused.

Letters

Solution to our housing puzzle will take host of policies, approaches

Everyone must understand the value of a range of housing options and price points and build support for the policies that create them, inclusionary zoning among them. 2:30 a.m.

ZOM Living has proposed a multiunit apartment and senior-living complex behind South Shore Plaza in Braintree. It would occupy some of the parking lot behind the plaza.

Letters

In clashes over new housing, can we turn down volume on foes’ voices?

People who attend neighborhood meetings, zoning hearings, and similar public forums do not necessarily represent the broader community. 2:30 a.m.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is trying to strike a balance with the rent stabilization plan she's floating that will be acceptable to both the housing industry and tenants. In January 2020, renters' rights groups rallied outside the State House and flooded the Joint Committee on Housing on Beacon Hill to call for the return of rent control.

Letters

For tenants already on edge, a 10% rent hike is not ‘stabilization’

What we need is pure rent control, protecting tenants from rent increases that are imposed for no reason except that the landlord wants more profit. 2:20 a.m.

A crane on top of apartments under construction at 140 Clarendon St. was reflected against the 200 Clarendon Street building, the former John Hancock Tower, in December 2022.

Letters

Wu’s rent control bid has been floated. Will it rise or sink?

"Rampant real estate speculation is a moral issue," writes one reader. Another writes, "If we want to solve the underlying problem, we need to deal with the cause: The demand for housing has outstripped supply." 2:30 a.m.

Now that the city has the power to increase linkage fees on commercial developments and inclusionary zoning requirements for new residential construction, it is the master of its own fate.

Editorials

Wu’s affordable housing plan needs a reboot

Hitting up small housing projects and doubling fees to build lab space not the way to go here. 4:00 a.m.

Protesters carried mock buildings in Boston on Jan. 13, 2021, as tenants, faith leaders, and small landlords called for a stronger, longer federal eviction ban as part of a National Day of Action to Prevent Evictions.

Letters

Small landlords should not become an endangered species

Absent affordable property management, landlord counseling, and resident service coordination for these small landlords, Massachusetts will continue losing its supply of naturally occurring affordable housing units. 2:25 a.m.